Access to Work

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What provision they have made for year-on-year increases in funding for the Access to Work scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Access to Work spend has increased since its launch in 1994. The spend for the past three years is in the table below. The budget for the next three financial years is around £60 million per annum.
	
		
			 Financial year spend£ million 
			 2002–2003 50.3 
			 2003–2004 56.0 
			 2004–2005 59.5

Army Training Units

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the reply by the Lord Drayson on 28 November (HL Deb, cols. 6–7), what were the supervisory ratios of trainers within army training units on 9 December 2004; what are the current ratios using data for filled posts rather than establishment levels; and how these figures compare with the Royal Navy, the Royal Marine and the Royal Air Force training establishments.

Lord Drayson: The commanding officer or officer commanding of every training establishment (unit commander) is directly responsible and accountable for ensuring a pragmatic supervisory care regime is in place for the recruits and/or trainees, within his/her establishment. Supervisory Care is a regime that aims to provide appropriate levels of support, assistance or advice to students while in the training establishment. The level of supervisory care required throughout the various stages of a day will depend on the outcome of a unit commander's risk assessment which takes account of the particular factors at each training establishment. The term supervisory ratios is particularly nebulous as the levels of supervision are determined by the activities being undertaken and therefore supervisory levels will differ not only between the three services but potentially for each specific training activity. For example, the Defence Diving School uses five instructors for a class of eight when in the water, reducing to one instructor for classroom work. Phase 1 (initial training) establishments such as HMS "Raleigh" would use one instructor to supervise up to 30 trainees in a classroom environment but this ratio could reduce to 1:4 for a higher risk activity, as calculated by the unit commander, outside the classroom environment. The manpower requirement is regularly reviewed to ensure that adequate levels of support are in place and the single services have the means to bid for adjustments to their manpower complement if required.
	Supervisory ratios are therefore only representative of a training establishment as actual ratios will differ between training activities. For Army training establishments, the range of representative supervisory ratios during weekday instruction in December 2004 was 1:4 to 1:41. In December 2005 this range remains the same although there is a downward trend—the average ratio has reduced from 1:16 to 1:12. This compares favourably with current RN (range 1:4 to 1:30, average 1:12) and RAF (range 1:1 to 1:32, average 1:8) ratios. The RN figure includes a 1:10 supervisory ratio for Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) Lympstone.
	Current effort is being directed to ensure that the three services share good practice in implementation of defence commander's risk assessment guidelines.

Artists' Resale Right

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the affirmative instrument relating to Directive 2001/84/EC (The Artists' Resale Right Regulations 2005) will be laid before Parliament.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: We expect to lay the statutory instrument on Artists' Resale Right before Parliament during December.

Avian Flu

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the statement by the Lord Bach on 26 October (HL Deb, col. 1204) that all birds that die in quarantine must be placed in a freezer until the local veterinary inspector can collect them accords with the epidemiology report, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 15 November, relating to a quarantine centre in Essex, which stated that a substantial number of birds that died in quarantine were reported as incinerated.

Lord Bach: Current instructions do not require that every bird that dies is sent for examination for notifiable disease. The local veterinary inspector may send a representative sample for examination for notifiable disease. Birds that die may be stored in a freezer for notifiable disease examination or in a fridge if the LVI has authorised that a sample is sent for diagnosis other than notifiable disease. The LVI may authorise the disposal by incineration of carcases not intended for diagnosis.

Avian Flu

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In connection with the quarantine centre in Essex, who authorised the incineration of dead birds; and who verified that the birds were incinerated.

Lord Bach: This is a matter for Essex County Council to determine as part of its investigation into the events at the Essex quarantine facility.

Avian Flu

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the reply by the Lord Bach on 17 November (HL Deb, col. 1298), what further research is being undertaken into preventing an outbreak of avian flu in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bach: It is known that migratory waterfowl carry a variety of avian influenza viruses, usually low pathogenic forms. The department is conducting a survey of wildfowl to establish the prevalence of carriage of avian influenza viruses in certain migratory waterfowl. The department has issued advice on minimising the direct or indirect contact between wild birds and domestic birds.

Cycling on Pavements

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 22 November (WA 201), how many fixed penalty notices have been issued in respect of cycling on pavements; and how many have been paid.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: It is not possible to identify how many fixed penalty notices have been issued in respect of cycling on pavements, as the data are not collected centrally. Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Office and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.

EU Sugar Regime

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What changes are forecast in the prices to consumers in the United Kingdom over the next four years, following the introduction of the reform to the common market organisation for sugar, of (a) a typical 100 gram bar of chocolate; (b) a typical 500 gram packet of sweet digestive biscuits; (c) a typical packet of chocolate half-coated digestive biscuits; (d) a pound of mint imperials or similar sweets; (e) sweets and sugar-based confectionery generally; and (f) a pint of beer.

Lord Bach: Five categories of sugar-containing products were considered in a September 2004 Defra-commissioned study by Leatherhead Food International: confectionary, soft drinks, other confectionary, cakes and biscuits, and preserves. According to industry estimates, refined sugar accounts for 10 to 20 per cent. of costs for a firm using sugar to produce a wholesale product. Defra's regulatory impact assessment on sugar reform estimates that for a 36 per cent. price cut in sugar, average retail prices of the various sugar containing products would be expected to fall by between 1 per cent (cakes etc.) and 9 per cent (preserves), depending upon the importance of sugar in the product.
	More precise forecasts for the specific products listed in the question have not been made, but they would be expected to fall within this range.

EU: Treaty of Nice

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Triesman on 6 July (WA 109–10), what is the justification for the use of Article 308 of the treaty establishing the European Community as the legal basis for a Council regulation establishing the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Lord Triesman: Article 308 of the EC treaty allows the Council to act, by unanimity and having consulted the European Parliament, in furtherance of the objectives of the Community where the treaty has not provided a more specific legal base. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the Commission's proposal establishing the Fundamental Rights Agency says that it is a general objective of the Community to ensure that its own action fully respects fundamental rights, that the establishment of the agency will further that objective and that the treaty does not provide more specific powers to that end.
	In 1997, Article 308 (then Article 235) was used, in conjunction with Article 284 (then Article 213), as the legal base to establish the Vienna-based EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. As the centre will be converted into the Agency for Fundamental Rights, the use of Article 308 to establish the latter is a consistent approach in terms of legal base.

EU–Israel Association Agreement

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the governments of Poland and Germany about the suspension of the European Union-Israeli Trade Association agreement.

Lord Triesman: The Government have not raised the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in discussions with the governments of Poland and Germany. The Government believe that, as a friend of Israel and the Palestinians, close engagement provides us with the greatest chance of encouraging both sides to take the necessary steps to achieve a just and lasting peace. We do not believe that suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would bring the parties any nearer to a peaceful resolution.

EU–Israel Association Agreement

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What systems are in place to monitor implementation of the human rights obligations in the European Union-Israeli Trade Association agreement.

Lord Triesman: The EU maintains a regular dialogue with Israel on its human rights obligations within the framework of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. We last raised human rights with Israel at the EU-Israel Political Dialogue and Cooperation subcommittee, which met for the first time on 21 November 2005, to assess the implementation of the political clauses in the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement and the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan: At the meeting, the EU and Israel proposed the creation of a new working group on human rights.

Eurofreeze (Ireland) Ltd

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Following the interception of an illegal consignment of chicken shipped from China, when they were first notified that Eurofreeze (Ireland) Limited had received the consignment.

Lord Rooker: An illegal consignment of chicken originating in China was detained by DARD officials at the Port of Belfast in August 2005 and destroyed. The named company never received the consignment.

Government Departments: Lighting

Baroness Buscombe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What costs broken down by department are incurred by lighting government department offices overnight.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Grey Squirrels

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any research is currently being undertaken into the control of invasive alien species, and in particular grey squirrels, through the process of immuno-contraception; and, if so, how much funding is currently committed to the project.

Lord Bach: Defra funding on immuno-contraceptive vaccines for squirrels is part of a much wider fertility control project, which includes planned work on wild boar and a non-immuno-contraceptive fertility control agent for rose-ringed parakeets. The total project cost is £1,012k, with about £830k of that being for immuno-contraceptive work. The project runs from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008.
	For the squirrel component, scientists from the Central Science Laboratory and the Forestry Commission will be carrying out research work which is due to start in January 2006. The main squirrel research will cost about £50k. However, there is other work in the wider project, for example, the development of techniques for administering immuno-contraceptive vaccines orally, which will also be relevant. This work is needed as injection is unlikely to be a practical proposition for most species. If everything goes well with the whole project, we will still be looking at several years before practical and usable fertility control methods are available in the UK.

Grey Squirrels

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are commissioning or sponsoring any research into the impact of grey squirrels on woodland bird populations; and, if not, whether they are aware of any other research.

Lord Bach: Established in 2001, the UK Woodland Bird Group is led by Forestry Commission England and is made up of representatives of more than 15 government and non-governmental organisations, including Defra, the RSPB, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the country conservation agencies. One of its functions is to prioritise work needed to determine the primary factors responsible for declines in woodland bird populations, and encourage further research, policy and management actions aimed at reversing the declines.
	The UK Woodland Bird Group has identified grey squirrel impact on nesting birds as one of several possible factors that could be contributing to the decline in populations of woodland birds. A proposal has been drafted for collaborative research on the effects of grey squirrel predation, but before embarking on experimental research, the group is carrying out work on obtaining actual evidence of nest predation by grey squirrels.

Health White Paper Consultation

Baroness Michie of Gallanach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the online questionnaire used as part of the listening exercise in the consultation process on the White Paper Your Health, Your Care, Your Say focused on general practitioner and nursing services only, and used mostly closed questioning, with no space for open comments.

Lord Warner: The online questionnaire was only one of several ways we sought the public's views. We chose a questionnaire structure that could be used to quickly analyse large volumes of data rather that asking for "free form" text which would have been more difficult to systematically assess. The questionnaire was therefore focused on issues that we knew from previous experience were important to people, but we did allow for some commentary to be included and the public have used that opportunity to raise a wide range of issues. We have received about 36,000 completed questionnaires (both online and hard copy) and collected a great deal of data, including thousands of "free text" comments. The local, regional and national events provided people with opportunities to discuss other issues that were important to them.

Home Office: Prison Visits

Baroness Buscombe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many civil servants from the Home Office broken down by grade have visited prisons in the last eight years.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Israel: Damage to EU Assets

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they plan to use the remaining period of the United Kingdom presidency of the European Union to discuss with the Israeli authorities the need for past and future compensation for any damage to European Community assets caused by Israeli military action in the Occupied Territories.

Lord Triesman: The European Community (EC) has made a comprehensive assessment of additional costs incurred as a result of Israeli Defence Force actions during the intifada, and maintains an audit of damage to EC and member state financed projects. It is difficult legally for the EU or member states to seek redress on damaged infrastructure as the ownership has usually been transferred to the final beneficiary, such as the Palestinian Authority. We none the less press the Israeli Government on this issue. So far compensation for project damage has only once been paid (when a World Food Programme food warehouse was destroyed in Gaza). The UK has repeatedly made representations to the Israeli Government about the often disproportionate force used and the scale of the damage.

Israel: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the Israeli Government about the effect of closures in the West Bank on the Palestinian elections in January 2006.

Lord Triesman: We, along with our EU partners, have expressed our concerns about closures in the West Bank to the Israeli Government. We call on the Israeli Government to co-operate fully with the Palestinian Authority in facilitating the preparation and conduct of the elections, especially to ensure the freedom of movement of all election officials, candidates, campaigners and voters.

Language Schools

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many overseas students arrived in England in the years 2003 and 2004 to study at language schools.

Lord Adonis: The information requested is not available centrally. Language schools operate for the most part within the private sector and fall outside the scope of any official collection of student data. Additionally, since many of their students do not require visas it is not possible to obtain data about overall numbers from immigration records.

Military Families Against the War in Iraq

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they have responded to recent representations from the lobby group Military Families Against the War in Iraq.

Lord Drayson: We are not aware of any direct representations to Her Majesty's Government from the lobby group Military Families Against the War in Iraq.

Northern Ireland Civil Service

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the decision to reduce the number employed in the Northern Ireland Civil Service was announced; and what has been the reduction since that date.

Lord Rooker: The decision was announced on 12 October 2004. Since that date the reduction has been 1,011 posts.

Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What amounts of compensation have been awarded in 2005 against the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland to members or ex-members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or Police Service for Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The Police Ombudsman's Office advises that no compensation has been awarded against the Police Ombudsman in 2005 to members or ex-members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether any children under 16 years of age have been arrested or detained by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; and, if so, what were the circumstances.

Lord Rooker: The Police Ombudsman advises that one young person was arrested in the company of a police officer and in line with an investigation being undertaken by the Office of the Police Ombudsman.

Northern Ireland: Cross-Border Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which chief executives of cross-border bodies have been accused of bullying or harassment of staff; which, if any, were found guilty; and what penalties they received.

Lord Rooker: Allegations of bullying and harassment have been made against the chief executive of Waterways Ireland. The results of an investigation into these allegations are detailed in the joint statement issued on 4 April 2005 by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA). The joint statement is available in the Library.
	In 2001 allegations of harassment were made against the then chief executive of the Ulster-Scots Agency. The chief executive retired prior to completion of the investigation.

Northern Ireland: MRSA

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in Northern Ireland, they record the frequency with which methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is (a) a primary cause of death; (b) an identifiable secondary cause of death; or (c) contributes to or results in death; and whether they will give details for the years 2000 to 2004.

Lord Rooker: Causes of death are classified by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death (ICD). The current version of ICD does not have a specific code for methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, statistics on deaths where MRSA was a contributing factor can be obtained by identifying deaths with specific conditions likely to be linked with MRSA, and manually checking the cause of death on the death certificate to identify whether MRSA was mentioned.
	The table below gives the number of deaths registered in Northern Ireland where MRSA was mentioned on the death certificate and recorded as (a) the primary cause of death; (b) the secondary cause of death and (c) the primary or secondary cause of death between the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		
			 Registration Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 (P) Total (2000–04) 
			 MRSA recorded as primary cause of death 1 7 10 4 8 30 
			 MRSA recorded as secondary cause of death 13 10 16 26 36 101 
			 MRSA recorded as primary or secondary cause of death 14 17 26 30 44 131 
		
	
	(P) Data for 2004 are provisional

Northern Ireland: Reconciliation

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they define "reconciliation" in the Northern Ireland context.

Lord Rooker: There is no statutory definition.

Turkey: Human Rights

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to make representations to the government of Turkey about freedom of expression in that country, in light of the forthcoming trial of the novelist Orhan Pamuk on charges of insulting the nation.

Lord Triesman: As presidency of the EU, we have raised our concern over the charges brought against Mr Pamuk with the Turkish Government on a number of occasions. Most recently, the noble Baroness, Lady Scotland of Asthal, the Minister of State for the criminal justice system and offender management at the Home Office, raised this with the Turkish Justice Minister when visiting Ankara on 11 November. Our Ambassador in Ankara raised freedom of expression and the charges against Orhan Pamuk with the Turkish Foreign Minister on 9 November and immediately issued his comments on behalf of the presidency; this was well covered the following day in the Turkish press. We will continue to urge the Turkish Government to safeguard freedom of expression and to raise this case.
	I also refer the noble Lord to the comments by my right honourable friend the Prime Minster and my honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Douglas Alexander) and to the Adjournment Debate of 15 November on this matter in the other place on 1 November (Official Report, cols. 714–715), 15 November (Official Report, cols. 942–950) and on 23 November (Official Report, col. 1507).

Turkey: Human Rights

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have made representations to the Turkish Government over the suspended sentence given to Hrant Dink for writing articles concerning the alleged massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Lord Triesman: Our ambassador in Ankara raised freedom of expression and the conviction of Hrant Dink with the Turkish Foreign Minister on 9 November and his comments were well covered the following day in the Turkish press. We will continue to raise this case and to urge the Turkish Government to safeguard freedom of expression.
	I also refer the noble Lord to the comments by my right honourable friend the Prime Minster on freedom of expression and Turkey on 23 November (Official Report, col. 1507), and to the references made to the conviction of Hrant Dink at the Adjournment Debate of 15 November in the other place on 15 November (Official Report, cols. 942–950).

Ulster Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 30 November (WA 53) on funding of the Ulster Scots Agency, why there are no proposals to bring the funding of the agency up to the same level as the Irish Language Agency, in view of the promise of parity of esteem in the Belfast agreement of 1998.

Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 17 November 2005 (WA173: HL2110).

Waterways Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 2 November (WA 28) concerning the religious imbalance of those employed in Northern Ireland by Waterways Ireland, in what way the organisation acts as an equal opportunities employer.

Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 2 November (col. WA38) .
	Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any religious imbalance in employment in Waterways Ireland.
	Waterways Ireland follows public sector employment procedures.